CHENNAI: Perhaps, the organisers never expected such a crowd. The open nets session for India at Adelaide before the second day and night test match against Australia turned carnivalesque. Almost. It turned into chaos.
About 3,000 (some put that figure at 5,000) spectators descended at the practice wickets at Adelaide to watch their favourite stars going through their practice rituals. According to reports, the crowd started to laugh and tease players whenever they got out or were missing the ball. On the other hand, Australia team practice did not see a turnout of more than 100 people.
Things started to turn ugly as some of the spectators started to request for selfies, even while batting, and if reports are to be believed, some were even doing Facebook live from the practice centre. Reports also indicated that players were even laughed and mocked at.
The crowd also seemed to have gone personal, attacking certain player for fitness. What really irked the team was that the vociferous crowd distracted them and concentration while batting was getting difficult.
“It was complete chaos. During the Australian training session, not more than 70-odd people turned up but during India’s session, 3,000 came. No one expected so many fans to turn up,” a senior Indian cricket board official told a news agency. The anonymity cricketers held may be in the last century is slowly changing with more engagement from the South Asian communities in Australia. The BCCI has banned all net sessions after this.